A Project of “Living Arts” celebrated by and celebrating the local arts, its community and spirit throughout a period of 60 days in Chiang Mai.

For two whole months in September and October 2003, the Umong Sippadhamma Art Center in Chiang Mai was the venue of a different cultural event every day, held for the most part in the evenings. The title of this series of events “One Day Eu-Ka-Beuk Two Months Culture Sketch” itself contains the most important conceptual element. In discussions on art by Thai artists, the term ‘Eu-Ka-Beuk’ has come to symbolise the free and unfettered interpretation of art. Opinions on art, concerning what it represents and signifies, on the functions it fulfils and what it can ultimately achieve are so varied that the organisers agreed to extend full freedom to every artist and group of artists to work the display space made available to them on the designated day entirely in tune with individual ideas and artistic expressions. What emerged was a unique and intensive “Art Time”, incredibly rich in ideas. There were classical exhibitions, art installations, performances, DJ meets, rounds of discussions, shadow theatre, meditation sessions, fashion shows – with the social environment and its problems time and again being the subject of critical reflection. Indeed, it is this very social link that on the one hand makes this series of events so interesting for the art project “Identities vs. Globalisation” and induced the Regional Office of the Heinrich Böll Foundation to sponsor the printing of the catalogue and the VCD, along with the documentation and the souvenirs. Local artists and groups of artists – among them some “foreign” artists residing in Chiang Mai for a consider-able time, all of whom however view themselves “global” or even local artists – threw themselves into the critical reflection on the manifold aspects of social reality, perceived from the viewpoint of the individual, often also situating themselves therein. One example of this is the photo series of a grieving woman, naked and bared, at first helplessly submitting to the unrestrained well-spring of sorrow within, then captured in postures of meditation trying to come to terms with her loss. As the photos reveal, the woman in mourning will spend some time in a wat as a bhikkhuni (female monk) but the bhikkhuni tradition got lost and prevents women nowadays from being ordained, not even for a short time.

Perhaps without the artist’s intention, the whole series of artistic productions reflect the impact of globalisation. When, for instance, an artist not only documents the entire day when two pandas arrived from China at the zoo in Chiang Mai, but also reflects on the event with irony, he is on the one hand delving into the local context, for the costs of the pandas, their keepers from China, the construction of their lodgings, the publicity campaigns, and the loan charges are immensely high. A total of almost 200 million Baht (around 4.5 million Euros) has been spent by both the municipal authorities of Chiang Mai and the central government on this “event”. This large sum may just as well have been invested in the arts, which in the opinion of many artists and intellectuals is in dire need, if one were to only cast a glance at the impoverished state of the National Gallery or bring to mind the perpetual postponing of the construction of a Museum of Modern Art in Bangkok. The promotion of even local art forms such as the Likay Theatre, for instance, would certainly make a long-lasting contribution towards enhancing Chiang Mai’s attractiveness. On the other hand, one may pose the question as to why the municipal authorities and government institutions spent such a large sum on the pandas. Both the pronouncements of those responsible as well as the front covers of tourism brochures bearing pictures of the pandas seem to indicate that with this “attraction” Chiang Mai seeks to enhance its appeal, both regionally and globally, for tourism. Attractiveness vs. local identity! Identity vs. globalisation!